Insider Selling: Griffon (NYSE:GFF) COO Sells 7,873 Shares

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert Mehmel sold 7,873 shares of Griffon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total value of $755,965.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 790,352 shares in the company, valued at $75,889,599.04. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of Griffon stock traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.56. 1,269,602 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 357,846. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $88.60 and a 200-day moving average of $82.71. Griffon Corporation has a 1 year low of $65.01 and a 1 year high of $97.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 742.86 and a beta of 1.42.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $421.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.63 million. Griffon had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 298.42%. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Griffon’s payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GFF shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 price target on Griffon in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Griffon currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Griffon by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,955 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,790,000 after acquiring an additional 15,925 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Griffon by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,447 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Griffon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Griffon by 21.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,035 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,080,000 after purchasing an additional 14,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Griffon during the first quarter worth $57,000. 73.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.